1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seal producing apparatus which is adapted to form an imprint pattern according to the input character string (the term xe2x80x9ccharacter stringxe2x80x9d as used herein includes symbols, pictographs, and the like) on a seal face member of a seal.
2. Discussion of Related Art
These days, seal producing apparatuses with which the user can readily make a seal have become prevalent in companies and homes. Such a seal producing apparatus has an input function similar to those of other types of information processors, such as personal computers, word processors, and the like.
Meanwhile, since such a seal producing apparatus deals with various types of seals (hereinafter type of a seal will be often referred to as xe2x80x9cseal typexe2x80x9d), the shape and size of a seal face member of a seal are varied according to seal types. That is, the number of lines (hereinafter, number of lines to be input will be often referred to as xe2x80x9cline numberxe2x80x9d) and the number of characters per line (hereinafter, number of characters per line will often referred to as xe2x80x9ccharacter number per linexe2x80x9d) allowed by a loaded seal (seal loaded in an apparatus is often referred to as xe2x80x9cloaded sealxe2x80x9d) are determined by the seal type of the loaded seal.
In view of the above circumstances, in the conventional seal producing apparatus, when an imprint pattern according to the input character string is engraved on a seal on which an imprint pattern is not engraved (often referred to as xe2x80x9cunengraved sealxe2x80x9d), the following procedure is taken. Specifically, an input character string is input when an unengraved seal is loaded in the apparatus, and then the character string thus introduced is displayed at the display area of the display unit. Thereafter, the optical-mechanical members are activated under the state that the character string is displayed at the display area. Thereby, an imprint pattern according to the character string is engraved on the unengraved seal.
In the course of this procedure, if the loaded seal is replaced while the character string is being displayed at the display area, it is necessary to erase the entire input character string having been stored, and to thereafter input a new character string. This is because, in many cases, the allowable values of the line number and character number per line are different between the seal before the replacement and the seal after the replacement. Note that, if the seal type of the seal after the replacement is the same as the seal type of the seal before the replacement, the input character string may be engraved without any change or in the form in which a part of the input character string is changed.
For reference, in the case of a word processor, a character string is input after the sheet size is designated, similarly to the case of the seal producing apparatus. However, it is not necessary to erase the formerly input character string even after the sheet size is changed. This is because the word processor can easily cope with the change of the sheet size by changing the line number and/or character number per line.
Meanwhile, among a plurality of seal types, there are some seals which are similar to one another (Note that, in this specification and appended claims, when a geometrical figure A and a geometrical figure B have the same shape and different sizes, the geometrical figures A and B are referred to as xe2x80x9cbe similarxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cbe similarly-shapedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9chave a similar shapexe2x80x9d. This definition of the word xe2x80x9csimilarxe2x80x9d and its related words is also applied to a seal, and son on). It often happens on such similar seals. For example, in a case where the user wishes to produce two similarly-shaped private seals of different sizes, the same family name of the user (i.e., the same character string) is engraved on the two similarly-shaped private seals. Here, a xe2x80x9cprivate sealxe2x80x9d is a seal which has, in general, a circular shape and on which a family name is engraved. In contrast, a xe2x80x9cname sealxe2x80x9d which appears later in this specification, is a seal which has a rectangular shaped and on which a first name and a family name are engraved.
In such a case, after completing forming the character string on one of the private seals, the user must erase the character string for the one private seal, and then must newly input a character string for the other private seal. This is because, in the conventional seal producing apparatus, when the loaded seal is replaced, the entire character string formerly input is erased.
Not only in the above-mentioned case where the same character string is engraved on two similarly-shaped seals, but also in a case where two different character strings which differ only in part are on two similar seals, if the user wishes to produce the other seal after completing the production of one seal, he must erase the character string formerly input and newly input the character string for the other seal, in the conventional seal producing apparatus.
As described above, in the conventional seal producing apparatus, the user cannot reuse the character string formerly used for one seal as for another seal, and therefore he must newly input a character string for another seal. Thus, the usability of the conventional apparatus is unfavorably poor.
Therefore, it has been strongly demanded to provide a seal producing apparatus in which all or a part of the character string used for one seal is reused as for another seal even when the allowable values of the input line number or the character number per line differ between the two seals.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a seal producing apparatus in which all or a part of the character string used for one seal is reused for another seal even where the allowable values of the input line number or the character number per line differ between the two seals.
To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a seal producing apparatus in which an imprint pattern according to an input character string is formed on a seal face member of a seal, said seal producing apparatus comprising: (1) file storage means for storing, as a file, imprint information including information of a character string and information of a print attribute; (2) file management table which stores information used for managing storage state at the file storage means, the information stored in the file management table including information of seal type; and (3) file editing/managing means for managing and editing the file stored in the file storage means by using the information stored in the file management table.
Further, a second aspect of the present invention provides a seal producing apparatus in which an imprint pattern according to an input character string is formed on a seal face member of a seal, said seal producing apparatus comprising: (1) loaded-seal replacement detection means for detecting that a seal loaded in the seal producing apparatus is replaced in a character string input state; and (2) character string maintenance/deletion control means which maintains an input character string held before the replacement of the loaded seal when a predetermined relationship is established between seal types before and after the replacement of the loaded seal, but deletes the input character string held before the replacement of the loaded seal when the predetermined relationship is not established between seal types before and after the replacement of the loaded seal.